Taiwan urges faster US procurement decisions under FMS

Taiwan has called on the United States to accelerate decisions on procurements, saying that delays could have strategic implications across the Taiwan Strait.

In a speech to the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference 2009 on 28 September, Deputy Defence Minister General Chaou Shih-chang said that previously unsuccessful attempts to procure equipment through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) framework were a result of poor communication.

"The FMS approval process failed to proceed as expected," said Gen Chaou, who added that "as a result, our budget acquisition, allocation, management and spending are affected".

He added: "The situation is delaying the progress of our readiness effort and could even exert adverse impact on strategic environment and balance of power."